Winter Heart Unfrozen
by Xenos Windshadow
Summary: Bucky is being used and abused by Hydra in every way possible. He is near his breaking point when an unexpected lover comes into his life and saves him from despair. But, the happiness doesn't last and soon Bucky's world is plunged into destruction from which only a few will survive.
1. Chapter 1: Broken Dreams

"Get up!"

Bucky slowly opened his eyes, flinching at the gruff voice above him. He was lying on the cold, cement floor in the basement of the Hydra headquarters. Dazed, he looked up at Brock Rumlow, trying to ignore the pain emanating from nearly every part of his body. Rumlow gave an eerie smile as Bucky slowly climbed to his feet and awaited his orders.

"You were the life of the party, Winter." Rumlow said, clapping Bucky on the shoulder. Bucky stared at him blankly, his greasy black hair hanging down his pale face. "C'mon. It's time to go back to your temporary resting quarters."

Flashes of strange images passed through Bucky's mind. Confused, he looked more intently at Rumlow, searching his face…pleading. "They never told me who that man was-the one on the bridge."

Rumlow sighed and pulled out a com, pressing a button and speaking into it, "Pierce, this is Rumlow. The asset is malfunctioning again, but we have another party in two hours. What should I do? Over."

"Just send him back to his room. We'll wipe him and put him on ice later," came Alexander Pierce's voice.

"Yes, sir," Rumlow replied. He clipped his com back onto his belt. "Alrighty, Winter. Time to go."

Once they reached Bucky's temporary room, Rumlow roughly pushed him onto the bed and smashed their lips together, grabbing Bucky's long, unkempt hair and pulling hard enough to make Bucky squirm in discomfort. After what seemed like hours of rough kissing, Rumlow broke away, smirking.

"We'll see eachother again real soon." He said before leaving the room and activating the locking system on the door.

Just then, Rumlow's com crackled: "Rumlow, this is Pierce. Report to conference room 3A." Rumlow quickly made his way upstairs to the conference room, whistling a happy tune and thinking about all the fun he was going to have in store for the Winter Soldier that night. He'd make him scream his name again…it would be beautiful. Rumlow slid his security card into the lock of the conference room and entered. Pierce was waiting for him.

"I have another prisoner for you, Rumlow." Pierce said, pointing across the table to where a muscular, white-haired man sat, his wrists bound and a strange, flashing collar around his neck. Rumlow approached the man, taking in his strange appearance. The man was dressed in a skin-tight red jumpsuit with purple briefs on the outside and a long, purple cape.

"Who is this?"

"This, Rumlow, is Max Eisenhardt, also known as Erik Lehnsherr. But, you may know him as the filthy mutie terrorist Magneto, the so-called 'Master of Magnetism." Pierce said. "I want you to put him with the asset. They'll both make excellent party favors tonight. And don't worry about his powers….the collar suppresses them."

Magneto was stripped of his iconic clothes, given a pair of Hydra-themed boxers, and thrown into Bucky's room. Magneto looked around the dismal room as Bucky eyed him warily. Then, Magneto fell to his knees in despair, sobbing and tugging at the flashing collar. "A power-suppressing device! They used these cursed things on Genosha to render mutants HELPLESS while they used them for SLAVE LABOR!" Magneto looked over at Bucky, tears streaming down his face. "Winter Soldier…working for Hydra now, eh?"

Bucky struggled to speak. "Yes. But, they are cruel to me."

Magneto sat next to Bucky on the bed. Bucky stared into Magneto's beautiful eyes, orbs of sparkling blue-grey under his pale eyelashes. Although Magneto was very old, his high cheekbones, chiseled face, and rippling muscles gave him a much more youthful appearance. Bucky couldn't resist leaning in and gently kissing Magneto's soft lips. Magneto closed his eyes and kissed Bucky back, wrapping his arms around Bucky's strong shoulders. Bucky used his metal hand to carefully run his fingers through Magneto's gorgeous, white locks. They kissed aggressively before Bucky tore off Magneto's underwear and his own clothes. Bucky pushed Magneto back onto the bed and took him….Magneto cried out and wrapped his legs around Bucky's waist, tears of pleasure streaming down his face. Oh! They were beautiful together.

"It's party time!" Rumlow announced. The large crowd of Hydra agents and scientists cheered as Rumlow lead Bucky and Magneto into the banquet hall.

"Yeah! We got ourselves a MUTIE tonight!" Grant Ward yelled from the dessert table, his mouth full of lemon tarts. Everyone laughed and cheered, whistling at the 'party favors.'

"Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy your spoils!" Pierce said, raising his champagne glass and taking a sip before handing it off to another agent. Pierce approached Magneto and grabbed a fistful of his hair. "Kneel."

"Not so fast, Hydra devils!" a voice roared. Suddenly, Nick Fury, Agent Maria Hill, Leo Fitz, and Phil Coulson sprang out of the crowd, guns at the ready.  
>"Magneto was originally OUR prisoner!" Nick Fury yelled. "We implanted a tracking device under his skin and allowed you to capture him so we could find your base. You lose, motherfuckers! Now, DIE!"<p>

"No, YOU die!" Grant Ward stepped forward and pulled off his face, revealing the Red Skull.

"Agent Ward is Red Skull? Ah, hell no!" Nick Fury bellowed, firing his gun at Red Skull, but Skull dodged, cackling madly.

"Fools! You dare try to infiltrate my base?" He shouted. "Kill them!" he yelled at Pierce.

"Time to bring out our other asset." Pierce said and then he shouted into his com: "Green Goblin, attack!"A few seconds later, the Green Goblin swooped into the banquet hall on his glider, hurling pumpkin bombs at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

"Get the Avengers in here NOW!" Nick Fury yelled. Agent Coulson quickly dialed Tony Stark's number, barely managing to dodge a spray of bullets from the Hydra agents. He rolled under the punch table.

"Tony, Avengers Assemble! Hurry! I just sent you the coordinates. We're fighting Hydra." Coulson screamed.

In all the commotion, Fitz managed to deactivate and remove Magneto's collar. Magneto immediately put up a force field around himself and Bucky and started hurling silverware at the Hydra agents, stabbing them in their necks so blood spurted everywhere. "Don't worry, my love. I will protect us!" Magneto said bravely.

Just then, the Avengers came crashing through the ceiling. First Hulk followed by Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Falcon, Wasp, and the newest member of the team, Electro. "Not so fast, Skull!" Captain America said, jumping onto Red Skull and hitting him with his shield. Suddenly, all of Bucky's memories returned and he punched Magneto in the face, breaking the force field.

"Steve Rogers is my true love, not you!" Bucky said.

"But, Bucky, I LOVE you!" Magneto said, bursting into tears.

Bucky ran over to Captain America and they embraced. Meanwhile, the battle raged on. Baron von Strucker and his backup army entered the fray. The Avengers were hopelessly outmatched. Hawkeye, Black Widow, Falcon, Wasp, and Electro all lay dead on the ground, blood pooling beneath them.

"I'm calling for more backup!" Iron Man said, blasting a group of charging soldiers.

A few minutes later, the X-Men showed up. This group, lead by Storm, consisted of Colossus, Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, and Jubilee. Nightcrawler bamfed his way around the banquet hall, stabbing Hydra agents while Storm and Jubilee shot lighting and fireworks at the enemies. Colossus turned into metal and punched Baron von Strucker.

"You messed with wrong crowd, da?" he said, punching him again for good measure. Red Skull had fled the scene, backed by Madame Hydra and the Silver Samurai. The heroes were losing again.

"Erik, help us!" Kitty Pryde screamed. Magneto was still curled up on the ground, crying.

"I haven't had my heart broken so much since my wife Magda called me a monster and left me!" he cried. "I loved Bucky with a passion as hot as the molten lava of the Savage Land volcanoes! Why did he leave me for Rogers?"

"Erik, snap out of it!" Nick Fury said, pulling out a bazooka and firing into the crowd, accidentally killing Storm and Jubilee. But, Pierce took out a gun and shot Nick Fury dead. Now, all the S.H.I.E.L.D. people were gone.

"No!" roared Captain America, throwing his shield and decapitating Alexander Pierce.

Avengers and X-Men were dying left and right, but just when all hope seemed lost WOLVERINE AND THE UNCANNY SINISTER NINE showed up. This fearsome team had Human Torch, Cyclops, Hank Pym, Ultron, Malekith the Accursed, Scarlet Witch, Magik, Spiderman, and Loki. Just as Wolverine and his group showed up, Red Skull returned with Silver Samurai, Madame Hydra, Ronan the Accuser, and Nebula.

"You think you and your pitiful team can defeat me?" Red Skull shouted.

"Wanna see, bub?" Wolverine snarled.

Ronan raised his hammer. "Wolverine, you and your group stand accused…" Before he could finish, Spiderman webbed him.

"My spidey senses tell me you SUCK, Ronan!" he laughed.

"How darest thou worketh with cold-hearted monsters like Malekith!" Thor yelled at Wolverine. "You shall pay!"

"No, Thor! They're here to help!" Iron Man said, but Thor ignored him, jumping on Malekith and smashing his head with his hammer. Dark elf blood spurted everywhere, bathing the floor.

Wolverine jumped at Thor, claws drawn, but Iron Man blasted him across the room. Meanwhile, Human Torch flew around the room, burning Hydra agents while Magik stabbed people with her sword. Hank Pym took on Silver Samurai while Cyclops blasted optic beams at Nebula.

"Don't just stand there, Ultron! Help me!" Hank Pym yelled.

"Shut up, dad. Insufferable dolt." Ultron replied, folding his arms.

Scarlet Witch noticed Madame Hydra advancing on a cowering Magneto and quickly hexed her before she could make her kill."What is WRONG with you?" Scarlet Witch angrily asked Magneto.

"Bucky broke my heart, my child. I thought we had something special between us but he turned his back on me just like your mother! He hates me because I'm a mutant! I should've known never to trust a filthy human!"

Scarlet Witch shook her head in disbelief, glaring at her father before jumping back into the fight. The battle raged on and on until everyone but Ultron, Magneto, and Bucky were dead. Ultron looked around in satisfaction. "And I didn't even need to lift a finger!" he said before turning around and strolling out of the room.

Magneto was lying on the ground, bleeding out. He sat up when Bucky approached him, his eyes full of sadness and pain. Bucky knelt beside him and brushed a lock of white hair out of Magneto's blood-stained face.

"B-Bucky—I—I love—you-so—mm-" Magneto trailed off as the light left his eyes and he stared lifelessly at the ceiling. The Master of Magnetism was dead.

Bucky gently kissed Magneto's bloody lips. "Oh, Erik…I wish I could've freed you and your family during World War II. Maybe you wouldn't have harbored so much pain. Goodbye, my friend. You are at peace at last."

Bucky gently closed Magneto's eyes and pulled his corpse to his chest and cried.


	2. Chapter 2: Winds of Change

War. Destruction. Death. That's what the world had become in mere weeks since the Hydra War. Ultron built thousands of drones and was destroying cities left and right. There was no one to stop him this time. Most of the members of the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four were dead. What little heroes remained were easily overpowered and killed off. It was hopeless.

Bucky Barnes sat alone in the corner of a diner, still bruised and sore from a battle with Ultron's drones down in New York City. After his teammates died, he headed upstate to a small, secluded town to get away from the destruction. It was only a matter of time before Ultron wiped this place out, too. Bucky would stay and die with the small populace. Everything was hopeless anyway.

Bucky sighed and took a sip of coffee, trying to fight back tears as he realized his best friend and true love, Steve Rogers, was dead. His last connection to his past life...gone. He stirred around the scrambled eggs on his plate, not in the mood for eating. He was getting ready to leave and go back to his motel when he saw a man wearily sit down at the table next to him. The man was a peculiar site...tall, thin, long-faced, and dressed in a shabby, faded purple suit. Despite this, his high cheekbones, wavy dark hair, and hazel eyes gave him a handsome appearance.

The man noticed Bucky staring at him. Blushing, he said, "You don't look too good."

"I had to fight off a bunch of drones. Do you live in this town?" Bucky asked.

"No," the man said, sighing. "I wish I lived here, though. Such a nice place. Where I'm from, it's always dismal. So much crime, too..."

"Has your city been attacked by Ultron yet?"

"Not yet, thank goodness. I'm on my way back today," the man said. "I had an interview for a comedy club up in Maine...it didn't go so well."

"That's too bad. You're a comedian?"

"Yes...well...I WANT to be. I used to work as a chemical engineer for a while, but I quit. Such dull work! I'd much rather be a comedian, but I'm having a hard time getting a job and my wife Jeannie is pregnant and I need to support her and the baby...I'm such a failure!" The man put his head in his hands.

"You'll get a job, don't worry...er...tell me a joke." Bucky said, trying to cheer him up.

The man sat up, thought for a moment, and said, "Why did the bicycle fall over?...Because it was two tired!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! That's a good one!" Bucky courtesy-laughed. The man smiled broadly. He had great teeth.

"So, what's your name?" The man asked.

"Bucky Barnes. And you?"

"My name's-"

Suddenly the diner door burst open and a tall, muscular black man with a giant gun walked in.

"Bucky Barnes! There you are...I'm Bishop and I've come with a message...Professor X wants to talk with you at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. It's urgent."

Bucky stood up and stretched, puzzled.

"Who's your friend here?" Bishop asked.

"He's a comedian. He's looking for a job, so if you know anything..." Bucky said.

Bishop turned to the comedian. "Well, unless we defeat Ultron, it won't matter if you have a job or not. However, if you help us, we might be able to get you a job back at Xavier's school. I mean, no one's really got any qualifications there, anyway, so you could teach a comedy class or something."

The comedian's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Sure." Bishop said, "But, hurry up, both of you. We don't have much time."

They reached Xavier's mansion by nightfall. The professor invited Bucky and the comedian back into his study. "Well, hello, Mr. Barnes. Glad we found you. Cerebro is showing so much death...mutants and humans alike fading in great numbers. And who's this young man?"

"I'm-" the comedian began, but Bishop stepped into the room and cut him off.

"Enough small talk, Charles! We need to hurry!" he said.

"Alright, alright..." Professor X said, "Bishop is an expert at time travel. We've come up with a plan to travel back in time to end this war..."

"Side by side before it ever began." Bishop finished. "We must go back in time and stop the mass slaughter at the Hydra headquarters. That's going to require a few things...first, destroying the Hydra base entirely. Second, making sure all the higher-ups like Pierce and Red Skull are dead. And third, destroying Winter Soldier's cryo chamber so he can never be used as a weapon again. Got it?"

"Sure...but why do you need me? I don't know anything about time travel." Bucky said.

"Uh, because you have super strength, speed, agility, a metal arm, and you're a trained assassin?" Bishop said.

"Oh...right." Bucky said.

The comedian looked at Bucky with wide eyes, "Really? How-?"

"Not now, Comedy Man." Bishop said. "Let's suit up...ten minutes till Go Time!"


End file.
